That One Time I Dated a Celebrity
by caligirls11
Summary: I had only graduated from UF a mere 3 months ago. Now, here I am (much to my mother's dismay), about to be completely on my own in a state where no one in my family had ever dreamed of living in. Except me. Hi, I'm Callie. Yes, like the state. 22. Florida native, born and raised. This is my story. The story about the time I moved to Los Angeles and met Ross Lynch.
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

I bit my lip, like I often do when I get nervous, as my eyes scanned the airport list of "Departure" flights. I've only flown by myself once before for a fun little New Years' vacation with my now ex-boyfriend's family. Never did I think I would be flying by myself again. However, this reason is just a little different.

"Flight 1077," I said to myself once I finally found the words that will take me across the country after what seemed like an eternity. Will they ever make these things easier to read?

 _Oh good. It's on time._ I found my gate number, gathered the carry-on luggage that I hadn't checked, put in my headphones, and made my way across the terminal.

I had only graduated from the University of Florida a mere 3 months ago. Now, here I am (much to my mother's dismay), about to be completely on my own in a state where no one in my family had ever dreamed of living in.

Except me.

Hi, I'm Callie. Yes, like the state. 22. Florida native, born and raised. This is my story.

The story about the time I moved to Los Angeles and met Ross Lynch.

 **Chapter 1**

"And did you remember to pack all of your pills?"

"Yes, mom," I respond on my iPhone, with a tiny hint of annoyance in my voice. She's only been reminding me to pack these things for the last, I don't know, 15 years?

"Ok, and what about your-"

"Flight 1077 to Los Angeles, California, now boarding," the overhead, monotone speaker announced to all of TIA.

"Oh! Mom we're about to board. Love you! Text you when we land," I quickly blurt out and hang up the phone. Perfect timing. I shove my phone in my purse and start to get up from my seat that I've gotten to know pretty well, considering my flight actually got delayed for 2 hours.

I tuck a strand of my brunette hair behind my ears as I tried to extend the handle of my carry on…and of course it gets jammed.

"This…stupid…thing…" I said to myself as I struggled to click the button on the handle, apparently not as quiet as I thought I was.

"You look like you could use some help there!" A friendly voice said behind me. I glanced over my shoulder and saw a girl, seemingly about my age, with the most beautiful, long, dirty blonde hair I had ever seen.

"Was I being a little too obvious?" I said to the girl, my cheeks getting hot, a normal sign of embarrassment.

The blonde girl gave a small giggle. "I travel all of the time, I'm definitely used to those stubborn luggage bags. I swear they have a mind of their own," she smiled. "May I?" She extended her right arm out towards me. I noticed she had quite a few Alex and Ani bracelets jingling from her wrist.

"Sure, I guess, but I don't know how you're going to-"

The girl took my carry on from my hand, leaned it on its wheels, gave it one tiny swift kick, jostled the handle, and extended the arm just fine.

"Ok, you're definitely going to have to teach me that," I said as I looked at her in amazement. She smiled.

"I'm Avia," she responded. "Are you on this flight?"

"Callie," I shook her hand with a smile. "Yeah, flight 1077 to good ol' Los Angeles, California!"

"Your name is Callie and you're going to Cali, how ironic!" Avia giggled.

"Wow, I didn't realize how lame that actually sounded out loud," I teased. "I guess I'm going to be getting that a lot since I'm moving out there and-"

"Stop. You're moving to Los Angeles?" Avia interrupted. She looked at me with a more serious look than I had anticipated from a bubbly girl like herself.

"Um…yeah? Is that bad?" I questioned, trying to hide the worried tone of voice. _Great. She's going to tell me how awful LA is and how I'm ruining my life by living in such a highly populated city with traffic that I'm still trying to mentally prepare myself for._

"That's where I live and you just made my entire day. I have a new friend!" Avia smiled widely, her perfectly white teeth complimenting her flawless tan. What the heck. Hopefully a few months in LA will let me look as tan as her. "We're sitting together on the plane, you have no choice," she said as she linked her arm into mine. "I have so much to tell you!"

We pulled our carry ons with us through the line of people with boarding passes, creating small talk about how fabulous LA is along the way. We handed our passes to the attendant.

"Have a nice flight, ladies," she smiled at the two of us.

Avia and I gave her a quick smile and headed down the walkway to the plane. I started to walk into the plane's opening when I felt a sharp tug on my arm.

"Uh, what do you think you're doing?" Avia looked at me like I had just grown another head on my shoulder.

"Um…I'm…getting on the plane?" I said as I shifted my eyes to the flight attendant, then back at Avia.

"Not before you touch the outside of the plane, silly. It's good luck, duh" She explained to me as she demonstrated patting her hand on the outside of the plane's door. "Just give it a few more flights, you'll be a pro at this!"

I took my hand, patted the outside of the plane, and looked back at Avia. She nodded her head proudly, as if she had just shown me the meaning of life or something.

"That's my girl!" Avia smiled.

We walked down the aisle of the plane until we were about midway and decided to sit there, since there were no assigned seats. "Now, I usually always take the window seat, but this is your inaugural 'first time I'm flying to my new home' flight and you need to see the gorgeous view, so I guess I can let you have it this time," Avia explained as she lifted her carry on into the overhead compartment with ease. Since she was so good at it, I handed my luggage to her and she lifted it up and put it snugly next to hers.

I scooted to the window and took my seat, fastening my seatbelt as I looked outside. Who knows when the next time I'll be back in Tampa is.

* * *

To get to LAX from Tampa International Airport takes approximately 4 hours and 50 minutes on a nonstop flight. Avia had been telling me some details about herself, and I had told her some things about myself to occupy the time. She has an older brother, Cody, who taught her how to surf, and she competes pretty regularly (which explains the tan…did I mention its perfect?). I made her promise to teach me, once I get settled into my new apartment, and my new surroundings, of course.

"So, what brought you across the country to Tampa?" I asked Avia.

"Well, my parents are actually divorced. I fly down to Tampa to see my mom and her boyfriend once every 3 months or so. I live in the city with my brother, and my dad lives about an hour away from us in Malibu. We're a pretty big surfing family, so we definitely visit my dad often on the weekends to catch some waves."

"I'm seriously holding you to that offer about teaching me to surf, don't forget," I reminded Avia. It's always been a dream of mine to surf, and Gulf of Mexico waves aren't exactly "shred" worthy.

"Oh, no way am I forgetting! You have to see me compete too, I'm pretty awesome," Avia smirked. She had been flipping through a _Seventeen_ magazine for the last 30 minutes. She landed on a page with a photoshoot of some celebrities I had grown to love over the last several years.

"Oh my gosh is that an article about R5?! Let me see, let me see!" I squealed as I snatched the magazine from Avia's hand. I was mesmerized at the article before my thoughts were interrupted by my friend laughing, obviously at me.

"You know, you're gonna have to learn to control those urges when you get to LA, hot stuff. I see R5 all the time out and about and there's no way-"

"Wait," I held my hand up to signal her to stop talking so I could process this information she just told me. "You…SEE R5? Just like…walking around? They do that?"

Avia rolled her eyes and laughed. "You DO know where you're moving to, right? Celebrities are all over LA, genius."

It took me a lot longer than I thought it would to process all of this. How did it completely slip my mind that I would regularly be seeing celebrities? Just walking around? Grabbing coffee? At the beach? And what, I'm just supposed to breathe regularly when I see them?

"Avia, you don't understand. I literally have 11 celebrity husbands. I'm a huge teeny bopper, it's actually embarrassing."

"Well, see, now you're obligated to tell me this list of imaginative husbands that in no way could ever be your actual husbands," Avia giggled.

Even though I know I'm never going to marry any of them, it still stung a bit when she said that. A girl can dream, can't she? I held up my fingers, counting all of my husbands once I said their name.

"We've got Nick Jonas, Joe Jonas, Zac Efron, Taylor Lautner, Darren Criss, Joey Richter, Ryan Reynolds-"

"You do know that Ryan Reynolds is married right-" Avia interrupted.

I quickly cut her off. "Not important," I spat out. "Joe Walker, Nathan Kress, James Maslow, and of course," I paused for a dramatic effect, "the one and only, Ross Lynch," I sighed as I looked down at his picture in the magazine.

"Callie, isn't he like, 15?" Avia asked.

"He's almost 20, actually," I said in a matter-of-fact tone, "and I'm 22, that's only a couple of years, not a big deal," I explained, having to have defended myself on this topic once or twice before already.

"Whatever you say, sweetie," Avia smiled. She thought it was cool how I was into all these celebrities and how I didn't care what other people may think. But she still didn't have any idea how I would survive in LA.

"Do you think I will ever run into Ross?" I honestly asked my new friend.

"Anything is possible if you just believe," Avia said in a dreamy voice.

I smiled and rolled my eyes at her. I looked back down at her magazine. _Yeah, right. LA is huge. Like I would ever run into Ross Lynch._

"Ladies and gentlemen, notice the 'Fasten your seatbelt' sign is now on. Please, return to your seats, we are now beginning our descent. Welcome to Los Angeles," the flight attendant said through the cabin speakers.

 _Welcome to Los Angeles_ , I thought to myself. _I don't think I could ever get tired of that phrase._


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Outside of the party where its getting too loud," I loudly sang along with my stereo system as I unpacked what seemed like maybe the 110th cardboard box I had shipped to my apartment from Tampa. Of course I'd be singing along to one of my favorite band's latest hits to help pass the time.

The apartment was starting to look good. I have been in LA for about a week, and there's still so much to see and do. At first, my mom wasn't too thrilled about the fact that I was living alone in an unfamiliar city, but I assured her that I would be ok and that I would make new friends. I had done tons of research when I was apartment hunting, and I picked one of the safest areas that was relatively close to my paid internship I scored, the sole reason of moving out here in the first place. I had already met Avia in the airport and we're practically sisters. I'm sure I would make more new friends in no time.

I heard my cell phone ring in my bedroom. I grabbed the picture frame of my family that was in the box I was unpacking and carried it with me into my new room. I placed it on the shelf above my bed and picked up my phone. Avia's name was on the caller ID.

"Hey you," I said as I answered her phone call.

"Drop whatever you're doing. I'm going to take you on your very first surf lesson! You're welcome," Avia responded.

I looked at the clock mounted on my wall. It was only 10:30, I had the whole day ahead of me. Then I looked at the still unopened boxes lining the hallway outside my room.

"I don't know, girl, I still have like, a bajillion boxes left to open-"

"Great! I'll pick you up in 15 minutes." The connection cut out.

I rolled my eyes. _Looks like I have to put off packing yet again._ I walked to my dresser and opened the drawer with all of my bathing suits in it. I decided to go with a pretty standard bikini, neon pink. It showed off what little tan I had left from the Sunshine State. _I'm sure Avia will bring me an extra wet suit._

I put on my suit, walked to the bathroom and put my hair into a messy pony tail, and threw on some board shorts and a tank top. I packed myself a little beach bag with a change of clothes. Right after I put my towel into my bag, I heard my intercom buzzer ring. I walked down the hallway with my things and pressed the button.

"Who is it?" I asked into the intercom.

"Get down here, loser, we're going surfing!" Avia giggled into the machine.

"Be right down," I laughed. I grabbed my keys from where I hung them by the door and locked my apartment. Mom taught me well.

Downstairs I saw Avia, her long hair already in perfect beach waves. Remind me to ask her how she does that without even going to the beach yet. She was with two boys I had never met before. _New friends, Mom will be thrilled._

"You look cute!" Avia exclaimed as she wrapped me in a hug. "This is my brother, Cody," she motioned over to a tall, tan man, probably around 25, with that same dirty blonde hair as his sister. Only it was much shorter, of course.

"So this is the girl I've been hearing so much about," Cody said as he reached his hand out to shake mine.

"Hi, Cody. I'm Callie," I smiled. He seemed nice.

"Right, the Callie that lives in Cali!" Cody laughed.

 _Oh my gosh if I had a nickel for every time I heard that reference…_

"And this is one of my good friends, Brady," Avia said as she playfully hit the other boy's muscular arm. He seemed about me and Avia's age, and he was tall and tan too. What is with all these Californians with perfect tans? I'm starting to stick out like a sore thumb here.

"Well, Avia, you missed out on that huge detail that your friend was so cute," Brady said as he flashed his perfectly white smile at me with a wink.

"Well that escalated quickly," I said under my breath. Avia noticed and cracked a small smile. "Hi, Brady, nice to meet you. I'm guessing you guys are my surf coaches today?"

"Hell yeah," Cody said with a smile, "you'll be a pro in no time. Little do you know that you're about to be taught by 3 of the greatest surfers in all of California."

I laughed. "Well I'm definitely ready! Let's do this!"

Everyone gave a little cheer and we started piling into Cody's truck.

"Avia, you can sit next to Cody. I'll sit next to Callie," Brady instructed, giving me another 100 watt smile. Avia rolled her eyes and shot me a look. I just shrugged my shoulders and giggled as I secured my seat belt. I looked through the glass behind me to get a clear view of 4 surfboards in the bed of the truck. I could not be more excited.

* * *

"Oh my gosh, Callie, just stand on the board!" Avia laughed. We had been out here in Malibu for about an hour and I still had not mastered the first step of surfing: balance on the damn board.

"Avia, YOU go balance on the board!" I yelled back at her, getting a bit annoyed.

"Gladly!" Avia shot back. She paddled out deeper into the ocean and turned herself around. She looked over her shoulder and found a good wave. She started paddling towards the shore, quickly got her balance, and started surfing back towards me. I rolled my eyes.

"It's ok, Callie! You can do it, come on!" Cody said, trying to encourage me.

I took a deep breath, and tried for the 203rd time to stand on the board.

"I don't even know why I'm bothering, I can't do-" And for some strange reason, I got up just fine this time.

Avia, Cody, and Brady gave me a loud cheer.

"That's it, Callie, you did it!" Avia yelled with excitement.

"Oh my gosh, guys, I'm surfing! I'm surfing! I'm-" I fell off the board into the ocean.

"Eh, not exactly," Brady mocked.

"Let her be excited," Cody said, shooting Brady a look, telling him to knock it off.

I resurfaced and pulled myself back onto the board and successfully straddled it so I could talk to my friends.

"Not bad for your first lesson, squirt," Cody said, giving me a smile. Maybe we should be done for the day-"

"We didn't drive an hour out here to just sit here. We're surfing," Brady said.

"Brady, can you relax for like, five minutes, she's trying here," Avia shot at Brady.

"If she could just balance on the board then maybe she-" Brady started.

"Guys, it's cool. I think I'm done for the day anyway. I'll just sit on the beach and watch you guys. Maybe I'll learn better that way," I say trying to stop an argument from forming.

"Are you sure?" Avia asked.

"Totally. You guys go have fun! I'll be at your level in no time," I lied. I turned around and started paddling towards the shore.

"Well that didn't go as smoothly as planned," Avia said, disappointment hinting in her voice.

"She'll be fine," Cody said, giving me one last look. "Let's do this."

I pulled out my towel and laid it smoothly on the beach. I got comfortable and watched my friends. They look so good out there. They made it look so easy. I pulled out my phone from my bag and started videoing each one of them. After a while, I started noticing they all had different strengths: Avia was the quickest at catching her balance before a wave. Cody had the most control. Brady had an eye for picking out perfect, strong waves.

 _If I could just master all of those things, I would be the perfect surfer._

* * *

A few more weeks had passed since my first surfing lesson (if it even deserves to be called that). Avia let me borrow one of her many boards in case I wanted to drive down to Malibu and try again if any of them couldn't go down there with me. I had been practicing my balance in the apartment complex pool at night with the board when no one was using it. I had been watching many surf tutorials on YouTube for hours at a time, and I'd say I learned a lot.

I decided to head back to Malibu on a random Saturday morning, that's when the best waves are, according to Avia. I had the top down on my jeep, letting the California air breeze through my long, brunette hair. Listening to my R5 Spotify playlist, I stuck my hand outside the window and moved it along with the beat, making tiny wave motions.

At this point in my studies (of surfing, that is…I've graduated from college, holla!), I felt fairly confident in my ability to surf. I had mastered balancing, and I would ride a few waves into the shore. Was I as good as Avia, Cody, or Brady? Hell no. But I'd say I've picked up the basics pretty well.

I parked my car, grabbed the neon yellow surfboard out from my trunk and started heading to the ocean. Surprisingly, there weren't many people out this morning compared to previous times I've visited.

 _Good, now no one can judge me,_ I thought to myself. I took a deep breath, kicked off my flip flops, and ran to the ocean. I put my board down right where the water kissed the shore. I laid on the board and started paddling out to the horizon.

I turned myself around and straddled the board. So far so good. I peeked over my shoulder. The waves right now seemed a bit calm. I looked forward, then something caught my eye to the right. Maybe half a mile down the ocean I saw another surfer. This one had shaggy blonde hair. Really blonde hair, actually, almost platinum, I'd say. He looked kind of familiar. But I had only been in LA for a little over a month, maybe I just saw this guy around the city or something.

I saw him look back over his shoulder and start paddling. I looked back to see what he saw. A pretty good wave was starting to form. _Well if he can do it, I can do it,_ I thought. I started paddling in sync with my mental competitor and when the timing was just right, I stood up on the board and started riding the wave.

You can't even put into words the high you feel when you finally catch a good wave. You feel like you're on top of the world. Being in so much control of something is such an amazing feeling.

You can't help but smile.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Out of all the waves I tried surfing today, I successfully caught about ten, I'd say. I've been surfing all morning, trying to impress that blonde surfer across the ocean. I saw him look at me a few times. _Yeah, look at me. Callie Benson: surfing extraordinaire._

The surfer looked over at me again and I swear he smiled at me. Or maybe it was just the sun hitting his teeth? I don't know. But we're gonna say he was checking me out. I smirked a little as I peeked over my shoulder. _Let's try one more._

I started paddling towards the shore. I noticed my competitor didn't try and take this wave with me this time.

 _He's totally watching me,_ I thought to myself. _It's now or never, Callie girl._

My arms were strong against the current as I raced to catch this wave. When the timing was perfect, I steadied myself and stood up. The wave carried me down the ocean. From watching Cody, I learned how to whip my board against the wave and change directions. That was my favorite thing to do. A smile spread across my face, like it does every single time I catch a wave.

All good things come to an end, and so did my perfect surf. That was definitely the best of the day. I smiled, mentally patted myself on the back, and dragged my board out of the ocean.

I walked over to my things on the beach and pulled out my towel. I started drying my hair, whipping it back and forth like my board in the water.

"Hey, you're pretty good out there," an unfamiliar voice said behind me. It sounded kind of like Cody.

"Thanks," I said, still towel drying my hair. No doubt it looked like a big wet rat's nest. How is Avia's hair always so perfect!?

"You surf here often?" he asked again.

 _Who is this random kid that keeps talking to me,_ I thought to myself. My surf was amateur at most. Nothing too special…yet.

"I just moved over here about a month ago, so I'm not really that good." I responded, more coldly than I meant.

"You could've fooled me."

I started turning around to properly have a conversation with this stranger. "Well thanks for saying something, I've been trying to impress you all day-" and then I stopped. That hair. That blonde, platinum, shaggy hair. How did I not recognize this guy out in the water.

 _How could I not recognize my 11th husband._

"Oh, you were trying to impress me, were you?" Ross Lynch said to me, a small smile forming at the corner of his lips.

I blankly stared at him.

"…did I say something wrong?" Ross asked.

I still stood there, blankly staring at him. _Callie, you're so stupid! Say something!_ My mouth opened a little, but I still couldn't remember how to form words.

"…I take it you know who I am," Ross said rather awkwardly. He sifted his fingers through the back of his hair.

"…Hi," I managed to spit out. _Come on, Callie, what are you? 5 years old?_

"Hi," Ross smiled at me. That gorgeous smile that I had only seen in photoshoots, YouTube videos, or on Austin and Ally is even more gorgeous in person. Wait, I'm 22 years old, I don't watch Austin and Ally…of course not…?

I smiled back. At least I remembered how to do that.

"I didn't catch your name?" Ross asked.

"I'm Callie," I said. _Phew. Nailed it._

"Callie, I like that," Ross responded. "Hey, Callie, I'm out here by myself today, and I could really use the company, and you seem pretty cool. Wanna take a walk on the beach?"

"…I'm Callie," I said again. I scrunched up my nose and closed my eyes. _I. Am. So. Lame._

Ross laughed. "That you are. Let's go!" Ross started walking towards the shore, then looked over his shoulder. I was still standing there.

"This way," Ross smiled, walking back to me, pointing at the ocean.

 _Come on, feet, move!_ I thought to myself as I looked down at my feet slightly buried in the sand. Ross gently tugged at my arm and I started walking. _Ross Lynch. Just touched me._

"So where are you from, Cal?" Ross said, trying to create conversation.

"Tampa," I responded. _There ya go, Callie. One step at a time._

"Whoa, all the way from Florida? What brings you to Cali, Callie?" Ross smiled.

"You know, you're probably the 400th person to use that reference since I moved out here," I giggled. Thank goodness for that phrase. It somehow broke the ice for me. "I actually just graduated from college not too long ago. I got a paid internship across the country, and I couldn't pass this up. I mean come on, look at this place!" I said as I motioned my arms back and forth across the beach. "The waves are a lot better than the Gulf, lemme tell ya," I said.

Ross laughed and looked at the ground. "I bet. So, do you like R5?"

"You're asking me if I like your own band? What am I supposed to say, no?" I teased.

"I guess that did sound pretty bad," Ross responded, looking back at the ocean to avoid further embarrassment.

"I actually love your band. I know every word to every song. Try me." I challenged with a smirk.

Ross smiled. He started singing, "Loving you ain't easy, nothing ever is…"

After slightly dying on the inside having Ross Lynch sing his own song to me, I continued the chorus for him.

"But I will keep on fighting for a love like this," I continued to sing. Then started laughing. "Come on, pretty boy, that's all you got?"

Ross smiled at me. Again. That's like, the 10th time today. Wait until I tell Avia.

"Ok, let's try something a little older," Ross thought for a bit. "Maybe she's just too old for me, living in a teenage fantasy..."

"Baby, there's so much we could be! Every time I'm with her, calling me a dreamer!" I sang.

"You're something, you know that?" Ross said to me. I'm totally writing that in my journal later, mark my words.

"A good something?" I asked, giving him some flirty eyes. _Whoa, Callie, where did that come from? Killin' it._

"A good something," Ross agreed, another smile forming. That's another smile to add to the list. "Have you been to a show?"

"I actually haven't. I've been dying to see you guys, you just hate Tampa for some reason," I teased.

Ross laughed. "Creating tour schedules gets pretty hectic sometimes. Did you know we're playing in LA next Saturday?"

How did that completely slip my mind? I'm finally in a city where my favorite band plays all the time and I didn't even bother checking to see if I could make it to a show? But wait. Ross said the show was next Saturday. There's no way there are still tickets left.

"I actually didn't know that. But I'm sure tickets are already sold out," I said, disappointed.

"Well, lucky enough for you, I happen to know a guy that could get you in," Ross winked at me.

Ross Lynch. Winked. At me. Excuse me while I die.

"Wow, that would be awesome," I said excitedly.

"Awesome. I better see you there." And there was smile number 12. I'm on a roll, y'all. "You can bring a friend too. I'll set something up at the box office. Just stop by there before the show and they can take care of you. Here, let me give you my number."

I was still trying to process these last 10 minutes with Ross, I was a little behind when he mentioned giving me his number. So like the dork that I am, I just nodded at him.

"Um, I left my carrier pigeon at home, can I see your phone?" Ross teased.

"Oh my god yeah, sorry, totally spaced there, that seems to happen to me a lot," I smiled. _Oh my god, I'm still lame._ I handed Ross my phone and he plugged in his number.

"Perfect. Now, with this number comes great responsibility," Ross looked at me seriously. "I don't want to wake up one morning to 500 phone calls from teenage girls because my number got leaked to the media. I'll know who to come after," Ross smiled. Smile number 13!

 _"_ You can trust me," I said, looking at Ross' beautiful brown eyes. "Your eyes remind me of chocolate." I quickly stopped myself and looked away. _Callie…sweetie…no._

He laughed a genuine laugh. "Here. Put your number in mine," Ross said, handing me his iPhone. I plugged in my number and handed him back his phone. "Well, Callie, this is where we go our separate ways."

I didn't even notice we were already back at my original spot with all my things. I was kind of disappointed. It's not every day you get to have a casual stroll with your celebrity crush since the past forever.

"But I will see you next Saturday, right?" Ross asked, looking into my eyes this time.

"Uh yeah, for sure," I spat out. Then Ross reached in for a hug and I wrapped my arms around his neck. I could still smell a hint of his cologne left from all that surfing earlier. I didn't want to let go.

"See ya then," Ross smiled. He started walking to the parking lot. Very faintly, I could hear him singing, "she's got me wishing, wishing I was 23."

I saw Ross drive away and I waved at him. I whipped out my phone and called Avia. Within 3 rings, she answered.

"You will NOT believe what we're doing next Saturday," I said to Avia, probably at 100 mph. Just then, I heard a buzz on my phone. I had just gotten a text message. I took my phone away from my ear real quick to read the message at the top of the screen.

 _Ross L.:_

 _Your eyes remind me of chocolate, too. :-)_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Tell me what he said again!" Avia exclaimed. We were in my apartment getting ready to go to the R5 concert Ross Lynch had asked me to go to. Yeah. I'm still trying to wrap my head around that.

"You're something, you know that?" I said. Each time I said it, it sounded better and better. I smiled.

"He's so into you, Callie," Avia said. "The one time I can't go surfing with you, you meet your soul mate!"

"Oh shut up," I teased as I rolled my eyes. Ross had way better people to be meeting and dating. I was totally fine just being his friend. But I wouldn't be opposed to the thought of anything past the friendship level, don't get me wrong.

I looked at my reflection in the full length mirror hanging from the back of my door. I had only changed my outfit one hundred times, but this was definitely the one. I smoothed out my yellow sundress (Ross' favorite color, of course) and made sure the bow was tied snugly around my waist. I started lacing up my black worn down converse while Avia was in the bathroom applying rhinestones around her eyes.

"I still don't believe we're going to an R5 sold out show," Avia said from the bathroom. "I wonder where our seats are."

I thought for a minute. _Ross said he could get me in. Who knows. Maybe he meant the very back of the venue by one of the doors where Avia and I would repeatedly get hit with by fans coming in and out._

"I have no idea. I'm just not going to get my hopes up. I'm lucky enough to finally be going to an R5 show," I said rather optimistically.

Ross and I haven't texted much since last Saturday. After the chocolate comment (which I'm still swooning over, by the way, and maybe sorta possibly printed out the text and taped it in my journal, but we're not going to talk about that), I had simply responded with a smiley face. That was the best I could do in the spur of the moment.

I touched up some curls around my face, but not too much. I was definitely a fan of the loose, beachy curls now that I live in California. Avia came out of the bathroom. She looked cute, too. She was wearing some torn skinny jeans with red converse and a sequined top. Her long hair was straightened, making it look even more long, which I didn't think was humanly possible.

Avia linked arms with me and walked me back to the full length mirror. "We look hot," Avia smiled and giggled. I smiled at her and looked back at my reflection. _I hope Ross likes my dress,_ I thought.

* * *

"Last name?" The guy at the box office window said to me in an annoyed tone of voice. Dude, you're at an R5 show. No annoyed voices allowed.

"Uh, Benson?" I said, not sounding too sure of myself. _What if Ross forgot to set up something for me and Avia at Will Call? What if I don't even have a ticket and I look like an idiot in front of this guy? What if I-_

"Yeah, here you go," the man shoved a white envelope into my face. I slowly grabbed it from him, in shock that I actually had something at Will Call. "Next!" The man shooed his hand in my face to signal me it was time to go. I slightly stumbled away from the window and walked towards the venue entrance.

"Let me see! Where are our seats?" Avia asked, grabbing the envelope from my hands and ripping it open. She pulled two passes out.

I saw her blankly stare at the tickets, and it reminded me of the beach last weekend, blankly staring at Ross. "What is it?" I asked. "Are they bad seats?"

"…Callie," Avia started. "These are backstage passes! You must've really hit it off with Ross!" Avia squealed and started jumping up and down.

I didn't think my eyes could open so wide. I was in so much shock. _Backstage passes? I only hung out with Ross for 15 minutes max, and he gave me backstage passes?_

"Let's go, let's go!" Avia exclaimed, linking arms with me once again. We walked into the venue. "Excuse me," Avia said to a security guard. "My best friend right here and I are VIPs," Avia flashed her pass in front of the guard's face. "Can you kindly tell us where backstage is?"

"Sure," the security guard said. He started walking so we followed him closely behind. It seemed like we walked the entire perimeter of the Staples Center. "Enjoy the show."

"Thank you!" Avia said. We walked behind a curtain. The first person I saw was Rocky Lynch.

"Well, hello, there," Rocky flirted, walking up to me and Avia. "What brings you girls backstage here today?"

"Callie, you made it!" I heard a voice say from behind me. Avia gasped a little.

"Hey Ross," I said, pretty calmly. _I'm getting better at this talking thing._

Ross gave me a huge hug, wrapping his hands around my waist.

"Wait, my dorky little brother knows two beauties like you guys?" Rocky asked in disbelief.

"I met Callie surfing last weekend," Ross explained, giving me a smile. "She's pretty good for a Floridian."

 _Ross remembered where I'm from. Is this real life?_

"Oh! So this is the girl you won't shut up about," Rocky teased. I could see Ross' cheeks turn a slight hint of red. "Callie from Cali! I remember now!"

 _And there's that reference again. I don't think it'll ever escape me._

"This is my best friend, Avia," I introduced. Avia smiled and shook both their hands.

"Who are these pretty ladies!" I heard a girl say as she started walking up to us. She was holding hands with another guy, who was none other than Ellington Ratliff.

"Oh my gosh, you're even prettier in person," I blurted out. Once I realized what I had just said, I scrunched my nose and closed my eyes. Exactly like what I did when I first met Ross.

Rydel laughed. " _I'm_ pretty? Look at you girls, you're both gorgeous!" she complimented, giving us a smile. "So, which one of you is Callie, the one my brother won't shut up about for the last week?"

I looked at Ross. The poor boy, getting picked on by his older siblings.

"Rydel, this is Callie," Ross introduced. "And this is her good friend, Avia."

Rydel and Ratliff shook our hands. "Well, it's very nice to meet you both," Ratliff said. "I'm always down for new friends."

Avia and I looked at each other. _Yeah, that's us, BFFs with R5, what's up._

"We're about to go on soon," Rocky said to the group. Then he looked back at us. "You guys can just do whatever, the best place to watch us would be right side stage when you're facing the audience, because I'm on that side," Rocky joked, flipping his hair out of his face.

"Sounds good," Avia smiled. "Let's start heading over there, Callie," she linked her arm into mine yet again.

"Have a good show, guys!" I waved to the group. Ross smiled at me then looked at the ground. Avia, being the oblivious person that she is, started walking while waving back to the group, not paying attention to where she was going.

That's when Avia met Riker Lynch.

I heard an awkward thud and looked over at Avia.

"Oh my gosh, I didn't even see you there," Avia apologized, looking at the ground, then back up at Riker.

Riker gave Avia a genuine smile. "It's cool, I'm glad you did so I could introduce myself before I went on stage."

And for the first time ever, Avia was speechless.

"This is Avia, and I'm Callie," I said, reaching out my arm to shake Riker's hand. _I didn't think the day would come when Avia was the one starstruck and not me._

"Ah, Callie, Ross' friend," Riker connected. He smiled. "He's told me you're a killer surfer."

"You know, Avia actually competes pretty regularly," I said, trying to make Avia look good.

"Is that so?" Riker said as he shifted his eyes over to Avia. "We should all go surfing sometime."

All Avia could do was nod. _Children…so naive,_ I thought.

"Have a good show, Riker," I said with a smile.

"Thanks. See you guys later," Riker said. He gave us one last smile and started walking to his family, tuning his bass along the way.

Avia and I walked to the right side stage. "Ok, what the heck was that?!" I loudly whispered to my friend.

"I don't even know…" Avia trailed off. "I'm not usually like that."

"It's ok to be starstruck, Avia, it happens to the best of us," I explained with a smile.

"ARE YOU READY FOR R5!?" I heard Ryland, the littlest Lynch announce to the arena. The stadium erupted with screams and cheers, including me and Avia side stage. The lights went dark and the band took their places, and then the lights spotlighted them on stage. I had never heard screams so loud in my life.

"How are you guys doing tonight!?" Ross yelled into the microphone. More screams.

"We're gonna start tonight with a suggestion from little Ross, over here," Riker said in the microphone, pointing at his little brother.

Ross smiled and looked at the ground. Then he started singing.

My mouth dropped open when I recognized the lyrics (which was pretty quickly, I might add. I'm a super fangirl, remember?).

"Maybe she's just too old for me, living in a teenage fantasy. Feeling there's so much we could be. She's got me wishing, wishing I was 23," Ross sang.

And I swear he looked over at me.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Come on, get loud, loud, let it out," R5 sang.

"Shout it out from the rooftops!" Avia and I sang at the top of our lungs. This has been such a memorable night. My first R5 concert and I got to see it from backstage, as a personal guest of Ross Lynch. If this is a dream, I never want to wake up.

According to Avia, Ross had looked over at me approximately 22 times throughout the show, and she claimed Riker looked over at her a few times too.

"I've been looking for the one…tonight," Ross finished singing. Welp. There's look number 23.

Me, Avia, and the entire arena exploded with screams.

"Thank you, Los Angeles!" Rocky screamed into the microphone. "We'll see you guys real soon!"

All of the other members of R5 said their thank yous and gave one final wave and bow to the crowd. They headed backstage.

"I don't know about you guys, but that was definitely the loudest crowd I've heard in a while," Ratliff said to the group.

"I don't know, all I could hear were some losers screaming backstage," Rocky said, looking back at me and Avia, giving us a wink.

"Ha ha, very funny, Rocky," I said with an eye roll and a smile. Avia stuck out her tongue at him playfully.

"You guys were awesome," Avia said.

"Well it helps having some cute girls backstage you're trying to impress," Riker said, giving Avia a smile.

I looked over at Avia. She blankly stared at Riker, then a rather awkward sounding laugh released from her mouth. I tried not to laugh, but it was really hard. _Avia, Avia, Avia…what are we going to do with you,_ I thought to myself, slightly shaking my head, smiling.

"What do you guys normally do after a show?" I asked.

"Sleep," Ratliff teased. The group laughed.

"What's sleep?" Ross asked. The rest of R5 nodded their heads in agreement.

"Did you guys know Callie's 23rd birthday is coming up soon?" Avia blurted out. I gave her a sharp look. _Where did that come from?_

"Oh really?" Riker asked. "When is it, Callie?"

"Uh, a few days, actually," I awkwardly answered back.

"Are you having a party?" Ross questioned.

"Um, actually I-" I started.

"Of course she is!" Avia interrupted. "It's not every year a girl turns 23!"

Everyone smiled. "Well if you're having a party, we'd love to stop by," Rydel said.

"Excellent! It'll be at my dad's Malibu house, he's going out of town on business. If you guys could make it that would be awesome," Avia explained.

"That sounds fun, I'm sure we could make something work," Ross said, giving me a smile.

 _Is this seriously happening right now? R5 is planning on coming to my birthday party?_

Avia and I started exchanging phone numbers with the group so we could all keep in contact. _All of R5 is in my cell phone right now. Is this real life._

"I'll text you guys when we have the details!" Avia smiled. "This will be so much fun!"

Avia and I started hugging everyone goodbye. I noticed Ross gave me a longer hug than anyone else. Or maybe that was just my imagination. Avia and I started walking in one direction, and R5 went the opposite.

"Oh, Callie?" Ross called back to me.

Avia and I turned around.

"I like your dress," Ross said with a smile. Then he turned around and headed out the door.

I looked back at Avia and she looked at me. "Ross liked my dress," I said with a smirk. Avia rolled her eyes and smiled at me.

"Come on, we've got some major planning to do."

* * *

A few days had passed and I was back in front of my reflection, checking out my birthday outfit. I decided to go with some ripped jeans, some black wedges, and I had borrowed one of Avia's fabulous halter tops. My eye makeup was smokey and dramatic.

"I don't know, Avia, you don't think it's a little much, do you?"

Avia sighed. "Can you stop? You look great." She grabbed her hot curling iron to touch up some of my curls. "I got you a little something."

She put the curling iron back down and walked into a different room. She came back with a tiara.

"You're not seriously going to make me wear that, are you?" I looked down at the tiara then back up at Avia.

"It's an unwritten rule that you have to wear a tiara on your birthday, stupid," Avia giggled. She walked up to me and placed it on my head. "You look beautiful, my Queen," Avia said as she curtsied in front of me.

"Get up," I laughed. I looked back at my reflection. It did compliment my outfit very well, not gonna lie. Just then, I heard my phone buzz. Avia and I looked at my phone laying on her dad's dresser, then back at each other.

"I'm getting it first!" Avia said as she started stumbling to the dresser in her heels.

"No, it's mine!" I laughed as I grabbed her waist and pulled her back behind me. I had almost made it to my phone until Avia pushed me over onto the bed. We were having a huge laughing fit at this point. She ran and got my phone and I pulled her back onto the bed, trying to reach for my phone in her outstretched arm away from me.

"Ooooo it's from Ross!" Avia laughed as she glanced at my phone, still trying to push me away from her.

"Stop, it's mine!" I laughed. My cheeks were starting to hurt from smiling so much. I finally grabbed it from her hand and looked at the message.

 _Ross L:_

 _'Hey, birthday girl :-) My fam is running a little late, do you mind if I stop by a little early?'_

"He wants to stop by early! What do I say?" I asked.

"How about, 'sure', that usually sounds pretty good," Avia said sarcastically.

I stuck my tongue out at her and answered my text.

 _'Yeah, that's fine!'_

Avia and I started turning on some music and setting out some snacks. About 20 minutes later, the doorbell rang.

I looked over at Avia from the kitchen and she looked at me from the living room. She quickly scuttled up to me and started straightening my outfit and nit picking at my hair.

"Ok, you look cute, I approve, go!" Avia said, pushing me towards the door. Then she quickly walked away to the outside patio to start tying some balloons around chairs.

I walked to the front door, quickly looked at my reflection in the mirror one last time, and took a deep breath. I opened the door to Ross Lynch smiling at me.

"Hey, you," Ross said, giving me a hug. "You look incredible."

I could feel my cheeks turning red. "Thanks," I responded. Ross was wearing dark jeans and a gray dress shirt. I saw he was holding a tie in his right hand.

"So, this is embarrassing, but I left my house without having one of my brothers tie my tie for me," Ross started.

"And you just hoped I would know how to do that?" I giggled.

"Yeah, it was a stupid thought, I know," Ross said, starting to shove his tie into his back pocket.

"I know how to tie a tie, Ross."

Ross looked back to me and smiled. "Think you can help me out?" He started doing puppy dog eyes and pouted his lip a little.

I rolled my eyes and smiled at him. "Come here," I said, grabbing Ross' arm and leading him to Avia's dad's room. I took the tie from his hand and stood in front of him. He was so tall that I had to stand on my tip toes to get the tie around his neck.

"See, it's not that hard," I said, fitting the tie through the loops I had created. We were a lot closer to each other than I thought we were, considering when I was tightening his tie his chin was about 2 inches away from my forehead. I looked up at his eyes, and then I noticed he was looking down at my lips. My eyes moved down to his lips.

After a few seconds of obvious attraction to one another, I snapped out of it and stepped away from Ross.

"Um, yeah, like I said, its super easy," I said awkwardly, referring back to his tie.

"Oh…yeah…I see, thanks!" Ross said awkwardly. We both shifted our eyes around, barely making eye contact with each other.

 _WHAT just happened here?! Did Ross Lynch almost…KISS me?!_

"Callie! People are starting to come! Are you-" Avia came into the room and stopped at the doorway. "…am I interrupting something?"

"No! No! No!" Ross and I both said. "I was just, uh, helping him tie his tie. The boy's clueless," I joked, laughing awkwardly.

"Yeah, I'm stupid," Ross said, giving that same awkward laugh that I did.

Avia looked at me, then to Ross, then back to me. "…you guys are weird," she said. Then headed out the door to start greeting the guests.

Ross started walking to the door. "Uh, after you," he said, motioning his hand in front of the door.

"Thanks," I said as I walked out the door, still not making eye contact with Ross. I started greeting my guests, mostly Avia's friends she had invited since I hadn't met that many people yet. Ross was mingling pretty well with her friends, too. They didn't make it a big deal that they were hanging around someone famous, which is what Ross liked.

Avia pulled me aside. "Ok, what happened earlier with Ross?"

I looked back at Ross, finally making eye contact with him. He gave me a smile. I smiled back.

"I almost kissed a celebrity, no big deal." I shrugged. Her mouth dropped open as I headed back to the party.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"I can't let you pass me by," R5 sang acoustically. The sun had set and the party had moved to the beach. After many failed attempts, Rocky and Cody finally helped start a bonfire with everyone sitting around on beach towels with toes buried in the sand.

Ross and I kept making eye contact, smiling each time and then we'd shyly look away. Avia would notice a few times and make funny gagging faces back at me. I'd roll my eyes and then look back at the fire. Hearing it crackle and watching the little pieces of debris flying around up into the sky was so mesmerizing.

"Are you having a good birthday, Callie?" Brady asked sitting down next to me, handing me another beer.

"Yes! So much fun!" I giggled, opening the beer bottle. _Maybe I shouldn't have another, I've already had quite a few._

Brady smiled and put his arm around my waist, rubbing the small of my back. Ross looked at the two of us, then back at his fingers on the guitar.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" Brady asked, nodding his head towards the shore. He was slurring his words a bit, but it's a party, it's just a harmless walk, right?

"Umm, yeah, sure," I hesitated. _Walking around will be good for me anyway, sweat some of this alcohol off I suppose._

Brady helped me up and put his arm back around my waist. Avia shot me a look.

"I'm fine," I mouthed to Avia. She looked at Ross and he looked back at her, a little worry hinting in his eyes. He looked at me quickly, then to Riker, then back down at his guitar. As I walked away, I could feel his eyes burning into the back of my head.

* * *

Brady and I had our feet about ankle deep in the water walking along the beach. It felt good to splash around with my feet for a little.

"You know, you really do look hot tonight," Brady said to me with a wink.

"Thanks, Brady, but you know I only see you as a friend," I tried to explain and sound as sober as possible.

"Come on, baby, I know you're into me, who isn't?" Brady flirted, tightening his grip around my waist.

"Brady, stop," I said, struggling to push his arms off of me, which was much harder than anticipated, considering he was 5 times bigger than me.

He pulled me in closer to him, despite my obvious struggling.

"Stop!" I said, a hint of panic in my voice as I tried to push him off of me. He was inches away from my lips.

All of a sudden, completely out of nowhere, I felt someone pry Brady's arms off of me and shove him forward.

"She said stop," Ross said aggressively. I looked over at him. I've never seen him so angry in my entire life of being a fan of him and his family.

"No one asked you, bleach head," Brady shot back, starting to walk towards Ross. Ross got up in his face.

"If you ever touch Callie again, you'll wish you never had."

"Oh, is that so?" Brady said, reaching for me again. I backed away, startled, tears starting to well up in my eyes.

Ross shoved Brady so hard that he actually lost his balance and fell backwards into the sand. I looked at Ross in shock.

"You're dead," Brady said, getting up off the ground. He walked up to Ross and swung a fist at his face. Ross luckily dodged his punch and tackled him into the ground. They started wrestling with each other in the sand.

"Guys! Stop!" I yelled, trying to break up the fight. Just then, Rocky, Avia, and Riker ran up to us. Avia grabbed my hand and pulled me aside while Riker pried off Ross. Rocky held Brady back by his arms.

"That's enough!" Riker yelled, struggling to calm down Ross because of his squirming.

"You guys are nothing but a bunch of pretty boys," Brady taunted. He spat towards my direction. "If you hadn't of shown up, your little brother would've taken a serious beating."

"Just get out of here, man. And call a cab, you're drunk," Rocky said, pushing Brady back towards the house. Brady shot us one last look.

"This isn't over," he said, giving a smile. Then, he was out of sight.

"Riker, I could've easily taken him," Ross said, getting out of Riker's hold.

"Ok, tough guy," Riker said. Then he looked over at me. "Callie, are you ok?"

"Yeah," I responded, wiping the tears from my eyes. "Just a bit shaken up, that's all." Avia gave me a hug.

"I'm so sorry, Callie," Avia said, rubbing my upper back. "I know how Brady can get when he's had a few too many drinks. I should've known sooner that you were in trouble."

"It's ok, Avia," I said, pulling away from her hug, looking into her eyes. "Ross showed up at the perfect time." I looked over at Ross and gave him a smile. He still looked rather angry, but he managed to give me a half smile.

"I think we'll leave you two alone," Rocky said, gesturing back to the bonfire. Riker and Avia nodded, then Avia looked back at me.

"You'll be ok, Cals?" Avia said concerned.

I nodded. "Yeah. I have Ross here with me now." I looked at him. He was talking with Riker.

"What the hell, dude? What was that about? I always thought Rocky was the hot head," Riker said to Ross.

"I don't know, man. I saw Callie leave with Brady and I just didn't get a good feeling. I'm glad I was here for her, though," Ross explained. He looked back at me and smiled.

Riker looked at Ross, then back to me, then back to Ross. "You really like this girl."

Ross didn't break his stare from me. "Hmm. I guess I do."

* * *

Ross and I were finally alone again for the first time since our "almost kiss" moment earlier at the party. We were sitting on the beach together, my head was nestled on his shoulder and he had his arm around me. We hadn't been talking much, but sometimes silence speaks louder than words.

Every now and then I'd glance back at the bonfire. I saw Avia and Riker dancing playfully together to the music. It made me smile seeing Avia laugh. She's such a carefree spirit, and I could tell Riker was into her.

"I'm really glad you came, Ross," I said finally breaking the silence between us.

"Yeah, me too. If I didn't, who knows what Brady could've done to you," Ross said, visibly starting to get angry again.

"Ross, it's ok-"

"No, it's not," Ross interrupted. "It's never ok. He could've seriously hurt you. You're like this tiny toothpick trying to save yourself from a fricken dump truck or something. How can someone take advantage of a girl like that? It's absolutely disgus-"

I don't know what came over me, but I put my hand around the back of Ross' neck and pulled him into a kiss. I could tell he was surprised at first (heck, so was I!), but soon his hands grabbed my cheeks and he kissed me back. I pulled away from him and looked into those chocolate brown eyes.

"You talk too much," I smiled. He grinned from ear to ear and pulled me in for another kiss.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"Damn, Callie girl, you're getting good!" Ross said, giving me a fist bump as I returned from the awesome wave I just surfed.

"Like I could be Ross Lynch's girlfriend and not know how to surf," I giggled back to him, taking my hand and splashing some water at him.

If you would've told me at this time last year that I would be living in California, have a celebrity as my boyfriend, and be in the middle of the ocean surfing with Ross Lynch, I would've said you were crazy.

It has been 3 perfect weeks since my birthday party when Ross and I shared our first kiss, leading him to ask me to be his girlfriend shortly after. Avia was thrilled of course when I told her the news once the party finally ended around 3 AM. She made me promise I'd help set her up with Riker since I'm part of the Lynch circle now. Seeing them together at the party, I didn't think it would be too hard.

"I like my Callie girl, valley girl, like the way she moves, love the things you do, keeps me up at night…" Ross sang his own version of his song 'Cali Girls', snapping me back to present day.

I rolled my eyes at him with a smile. "Ross, could you be any more lame?"

"Not too hard to see, that my Callie girl is what I need!" Ross continued to sing.

I pushed down on the nose of his board and he lost balance and fell into the ocean. I giggled as I saw him resurface, flipping his hair out of his face.

"Oh, you think you're funny or something?" Ross asked. I was laughing so hard that I started forming tears in my eyes.

Ross swam up to the back of my board and climbed on. The board started swaying back and forth, almost causing me to fall off.

"Ross! Stop! I'm going to fall!" I said in between laughs. Ross sat behind me on my board and wrapped his arms across the front of my shoulders. I reached up and put my hands on his arms and leaned back into him.

"I'm glad you're here in California," Ross said.

"And why is that?" I questioned, waiting for a romantic response.

"Because I wouldn't be able to come up with a cool cover of my own song if I didn't meet a girl named Callie," Ross joked.

"You are so annoying," I teased, turning my head back to him. He gave me a gentle kiss, the taste of saltwater lingering between us.

"My family's having a barbecue tonight, and you're coming," Ross told me after our kiss.

"Aww man…do I have to?" I said, pretending to be disgusted.

"Yes, you're being forced to spend even more time with me, oh the agony…" Ross said playfully.

"I wouldn't miss it," I smiled, giving him another quick kiss. When I opened back my eyes, I saw a huge wave starting to form. "Look! Look! Hurry! Let's go!" I said, pointing to the wave, nearly shoving Ross off of my board. He started laughing, swam to his board and mounted it.

We exchanged glances, nodded, and started paddling. Nothing beats catching a perfect wave with your perfect boyfriend.

* * *

I rang the doorbell to the Lynch's house and started straightening out my floral sundress. Not too long after, Rydel had answered.

"Callie! I'm so glad you're here!" She said, coming in for a hug. She examined my outfit. "You look so cute!"

"Thanks! You too!" I said, looking at her own outfit. She had a cute sundress on, too. Remind me to ask her if I can borrow that from her sometime. Yeah, that's right, we're on that level.

"The boys are out back in the pool. Come in, come in!" She gestured into her house. I walked by the kitchen and saw Stormie, Ross' mom, preparing a large salad.

"You must be Callie!" Stormie said, putting down her utensils. She started wiping her hands on her apron and walked towards me. I stuck my hand out for a handshake.

"It's so nice to-" Stormie had rejected my handshake and wrapped me into a nice warm hug.

"It's so nice to meet the girl that has made my boy so happy these past few weeks!"

I returned her hug. "Your son makes me very happy," I responded. I heard a loud splash and looked out of the kitchen window. It looked like Ross just did a huge cannonball, considering the back patio was now covered in water. Ross resurfaced and did his little hair flip he always does. I smiled.

"Go, go see your boyfriend!" Stormie gave a small laugh and gently pushed me towards the back door.

"It was so nice meeting you, Stormie," I smiled back at her and then headed outside.

"Ross! Your girl's here!" Ratliff yelled to Ross from a lawn chair. Ross looked towards the back door and I waved at him. I put my purse down on the table and saw Ross was running up to me, about to give me a huge wet hug.

"Ross! No! You'll get me all wet!" I giggled, trying to push him away.

"You don't have your phone on you, right?" Ross asked, still trying to hug me.

"What? No, it's in my purse-"

Ross picked me up bridal style and started running towards the pool. I started squealing and just like that, my basically 5 year old boyfriend had jumped into the pool with me in his arms.

We popped back up to the surface and I gasped for air. I could hear Rocky and Riker laughing at us.

"Ross, I'm going to kill you!" I joked, playfully pushing him down under the water. He came back up and wrapped his arms around me, twirling me in the water. I gave him a kiss, which kinda sorta quickly escalated into a full on makeout session…whoops.

"Eww, guys, get a room," Rocky teased. Ross and I pulled apart and smiled at each other. He helped me over to the pool stairs and held my back as I got out.

"I have something you can wear," Rydel said, helping me ring out my now soaking wet dress. She stuck her tongue out at Ross.

"I'm sorry, she was asking for it," Ross laughed, running his fingers through his hair.

"So, wild guess, this is Callie?" Mark Lynch, Ross' father said as he left the grill and walked up to me.

"Not an ideal way I'd like to be meeting you, Mr. Lynch, but yes," I said, feeling my cheeks turn red.

Mark laughed and shook my hand. "Let's save the hug for when you have dry clothes on," he smiled.

"Sounds good," I smiled back. Rydel pulled me aside and led me to her room.

"Here's my sundress section," Rydel pointed. Her closet was huge.

"You have sections for your clothes?" I asked in awe, sifting through her wardrobe.

"But of course!" Rydel giggled.

After what seemed like a huge decision, I picked out a simple white sundress with little flower cutouts along the waist.

"Super cute, Ross will love it," Rydel smiled.

"You think?" I responded, looking at myself in her mirror.

"Ross has had a few girlfriends before, but I've never seen him this happy. He's smiling all the time. He really likes you, Callie."

A huge smile spread across my face. "I really like him too," I quickly stopped myself and turned towards Rydel. "But not in that 'omg I'm you're number one fan' way, but genuinely as a person." I looked back at my reflection. "He has a beautiful heart. I don't know, Rydel, he's just different from every other guy I've dated."

Rydel smiled. "Come on, let's head back." We both touched up our makeup really quick, put up our hair in messy buns, then she grabbed my hand and led me back to the patio.

Ross and the boys were still in their bathing suits but they were sitting around the outside table having casual conversations, eating some snack food that Stormie had put out. Ross was talking with Ryland and then glanced my way. He made a double take and looked me up and down. He walked up to me and grabbed my hands, intertwining his fingers with mine.

"You're beautiful," Ross said, looking into my eyes.

 _Could I get any more lucky?_


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

The Lynch family and I were all seated around the outside table with piles and piles of food stacked in front us. Stormie's grocery bill must be freaking huge, these boys eat like horses. It's been 15 minutes since the food was brought out and Rocky had already put away 4 hamburgers and had two plates of salad. All the other boys compared about equally.

Here I am, still working on my first burger. And let's be real- I probably won't even be able to finish it.

"Callie, you eat like a fricken bird," Ratliff joked. "Rydel is already on her third burger," he pointed to his girlfriend.

Rydel had a face full of food and looked at everyone and started giggling. She swallowed the leftover food in her mouth and looked over at me.

"Yeah, for real, Callie. If you're going to be a member of this family, you're going to have to eat more than that!" Rydel teased.

Ross choked on his food. We all looked over at him. Ryland started patting him on his back.

"Im fine," Ross managed to say. He took a sip of water. "Let's not get married away about marriage, yet."

We all laughed. That's true. Ross and I had only been dating for 3 weeks. Who knows what our future together will look like.

After a few more casual conversations around the dinner table (with Ross and I holding hands under it the entire time), everyone finally started finishing up their meals.

"Man, I'm stuffed," Riker said, sitting back in his chair placing his hands over his stomach. "Good job with the burgers, dad."

Everyone nodded in agreement, giving small compliments.

"Well, I had to make them extra good tonight to impress our guest!" Mark smiled.

"They were really good, Mr. Lynch, thank you," I smiled.

"What do you mean 'they'? You barely finished one!" Rocky teased.

I laughed. "You know what I mean!"

The sun was starting to set at this point. Stormie got up from her seat.

"Well, I think it's time to start cleaning this pig sty," Stormie laughed. "Ross, go start up the fire pit, I bought stuff for smores tonight."

"Yes! Smores!" Ross exclaimed. He turned to Ryland.

"Yes!" Ryland said. He and Ross high fived each other. I smiled at them.

I helped clear the table with Rydel, Rocky, Mark, Riker, and Ratliff. With all of these extra hands, we easily cleaned up the mess in 20 minutes flat.

I walked to the fire pit and sat down on one of their outdoor couches. Ross and Ryland were gathering the smores equipment, so I was sitting by myself. Not too long after, Riker sat down across from me.

"So, Callie, how've you been," Riker said, striking up a conversation.

"Not too shabby, my life actually couldn't be more perfect," I smiled, looking down at the fire. I love how it crackles.

"So, your friend, Avia, is she seeing anyone?" Riker asked. He actually caught me off guard. I was planning on bringing her up later, but I guess now's as good a time as any.

"She's not," I said nonchalantly. I didn't want to say how interested she is in Riker, at least not yet. I gotta fish a little more out of him first.

"Oh, that's cool," Riker said, looking down at the fire.

"Yep…pretty cool," I said, filling the awkward silence. He totally likes her.

After a few more minutes of not talking, I opened my mouth about ready to just tell Riker to ask her out.

But just them, he finally spoke. "Do you think she'd like to go on a date with me?"

 _There it is_ , I thought. I smiled. "I think she might be interested," I said casually. I saw Riker smile, not breaking his stare from the fire.

"Cool, maybe we can double date. How's next Friday sound?"

"Perfect," I smiled. I secretly pulled out my phone and texted Avia.

' _Don't make plans next Friday. We're double dating the Lynch boys.'_

I hit send. No more than 30 seconds later, my phone vibrated.

 _Avia:_

 _':) :) :) :) :)!'_

An hour had passed and everyone was sitting around the fire. Ratliff and Rydel were sitting on a couch together, Ross and I were sitting together, and everyone else had single chairs.

Ross was struggling getting his marshmallow off the stick, considering he's one of those people that likes to burn the outside to a crisp so that the inside will be extra gooey.

I giggled. "Here, let me help, babe." I grabbed the smore stick from him and pulled off the marshmallow. I put it in between two graham crackers and added a piece of chocolate. I handed it back to him.

"Behold, the perfect smore," I grinned.

"I knew I was dating you for a reason," Ross joked as he shoved the entire smore into his mouth.

My fingers were sticky and covered with marshmallow remnants.

"Oh, gross, my fingers…here, I'll fix it," I said as I reached for Ross' nose and started wiping my fingers there and on his cheeks. "All gone!" I giggled.

Rydel opened her mouth in shock. She covered it with her hand to try and stop her from smiling. You could faintly hear her trying to hold back laughs.

Ross looked over at me. "Ok, guess you didn't learn your lesson. Back in the pool for Callie," he said as he picked me up off the couch and slung me over his shoulder. He started walking over to the pool, fighting my squirming.

"Oh my gosh, no! Ross! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" I laughed, trying to get down.

He walked to the edge of the pool and stop. He adjusted me so I was back in the bridal style position in his arms. "Alright, you owe me one kiss or else you're gonna need to borrow another outfit from Rydel," Ross explained, turning his cheek towards my lips.

I put my hands on his face and turned it towards me. I looked in his eyes, then slowly gave him a kiss. I pulled away and his eyes were still closed, trying to remember every second.

"You happy now?" I teased.

"Ok, you're forgiven," Ross said, putting me down on the ground.

"By the way, we're double dating with Riker and Avia next Friday," I casually explained, smoothing out my dress with my hands.

"Riker likes Avia?" Ross asked.

"Are you blind? Did you not see them at my party? They were totally flirting the entire time."

"Huh, who would've thought," Ross said, his words trailing off. "I guess I was a little preoccupied," he said, grabbing my waist. He pulled me in closer until our lips were just inches apart. I started closing my eyes, preparing myself for another perfect kiss.

"Ross! The marshmallows are almost gone! If you don't hurry up and get back here I'm finishing them!" Ryland yelled.

"I don't think so!" Ross yelled to his younger brother, starting to run back. He turned his head back towards me, still running.

"We'll continue this later!" Ross called back to me.

I rolled my eyes and smiled, shaking my head as I headed back to the fire pit.


End file.
